This invention relates to an equipment for correcting a surface of a sheet metal material for an automobile or an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment adapted to push or pull a surface of a sheet metal material to correct roughness or ruggedness of the surface such as deformation thereof, strain thereof or the like, and more particularly to an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is adapted to actuate an impact wrench mechanism by means of compressed air fed from an air supply means such as, for example, an air compressor or the like thereto to retractably operate a piston arranged in a cylinder thereof, to thereby correct ruggedness of the automobile sheet metal surface.
An equipment which has been conventionally used for repairing roughness or ruggedness generated on a surface of a sheet metal material of an automobile due to a traffic accident or the like is constructed in such a manner as shown in either FIGS. 27(A), 27(B) and 29 or FIGS. 28(A), 28(B) and 30. The conventional equipment generally designated at reference numeral 300 in FIGS. 27(A), 27(B) and 29 is constructed in such a manner that a handle 311 of a hydraulic pump 310 connected through a high pressure hose 303 to a cylinder 301 in which a piston 302 is movably received is operated to extend the piston 302 from the cylinder 301, resulting in an inward projection 350 generated on a sheet metal surface of an automobile 200 being pushed out through an attachment 155 attached to a distal end of the piston 302. The conventional equipment generally designated at reference numeral 400 in FIGS. 28(A), 28(B) and 30 is so constructed that a handle 311 of a hydraulic pump 310 connected through a high pressure hose 303 to a cylinder 401 having a piston 402 movably received therein is operated to retract the piston 402 into the cylinder 401, resulting in a depression 351 generated on a metal sheet surface of an automobile 200 being forced out.
Unfortunately, the prior art encounters some important disadvantages.
More particularly, in order to smoothly carry out sheet metal working for an automobile, it is required to prepare two kinds of sheet metal surface correcting equipments or such a sheet metal surface correcting equipment as shown in FIGS. 27 and 29 exclusively used for force out a projection on a sheet metal surface of an automobile and that as shown in FIGS. 28 and 30 exclusively used for pulling out a depression on the sheet metal surface. This causes metal sheet operation or working to be highly troublesome and expensive because two such sheet metal surface correcting equipments must be selectively applied depending on properties of the sheet metal surface.
Another disadvantage of the prior art is that there is a likelihood of causing oil to leak from the hydraulic pump during sheet metal working, leading to contamination of the automobile with the oil.
Further, the prior art renders separation of the high pressure hose from the hydraulic pump during pressurization highly difficult, to thereby fail to move or shift the hydraulic pump, so that smooth sheet metal working may not be ensured.
Moreover, the prior art is highly laborious because of requiring two workers or one for positioning the distal end of the piston on a portion of the metal sheet surface to be corrected and the other for carrying out pressurizing operation by means of the hydraulic pump.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is capable of solely selectively carrying out pushing or pulling of a sheet metal surface depending on properties of the sheet metal surface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is capable of effectively preventing contamination of an automobile during sheet metal working.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is capable of permitting an air hose for connecting a compressed air feed means and the sheet metal surface correcting equipment to each other therethrough to be separated from the latter in the course of advancing or retracting of a piston, to thereby facilitate correction of a site or portion of a sheet metal surface to be corrected, even when the portion requires that alignment between the piston and the portion of the surface is carried out from an inside of the metal sheet.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is capable of permitting only one worker to rapidly carry out both operation of positioning a distal end of a piston on a portion of a sheet metal surface to be corrected and operation of advancing or retracting the piston, resulting in facilitating sheet metal working.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is capable of adequately withstanding a load during sheet metal drawing operation or working which readily causes the load to be applied to a housing of the equipment.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment which is capable of being portable and compact in structure.
In accordance with the present invention, an automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment is provided. The automobile sheet metal surface correcting equipment includes a housing having an air flow path means switchably arranged therein, an air introduction means provided therein with air introduction passages for introducing compressed air into the housing therethrough, an impact wrench mechanism arranged in the housing and actuated by means of compressed air fed through the air introduction means into the housing, a screw bolt having rotating force applied thereto from the impact wrench mechanism, and a piston mechanism including a cylinder and a piston movably arranged in the cylinder in a retractable manner in association with rotation of the screw bolt, whereby the air flow path means in the housing is changed over to retractably move the piston of the piston mechanism, resulting in a metal sheet surface being corrected.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the impact wrench mechanism includes an air motor actuated by means of compressed air fed to the housing and an impact wrench actuated by the air motor. Also, a rotation direction changing-over valve is arranged for changing over the air flow path means, to thereby change over a direction of rotation of the air motor of the impact wrench mechanism. The air flow path means includes a first air flow path and a second air flow path which are changed over by the rotation direction changing-over valve. Such construction permits a direction of rotation of the air motor to be changed over to actuate the piston of the piston mechanism, to thereby correct the sheet metal surface.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, holding bolts are arranged for mounting a cover means on each of end surfaces of the housing to close the end surface, whereby the air flow path means in the housing is changed over during actuation of the impact wrench mechanism to actuate the piston of the piston mechanism, resulting in correcting the sheet metal surface.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, holding bolts are arranged for mounting a cover means on each of end surfaces of the housing to close the end surface, whereby a direction of rotation of the air motor is changed over to actuate the piston of the piston mechanism, to thereby correct the sheet metal surface.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air introduction means includes a handle having the air introduction passages formed therein. The handle is arranged above the housing.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the housing includes a first receiving portion and a second receiving portion. The first receiving portion has the impact wrench mechanism received therein. The screw bolt includes a bolt head. The second receiving portion has the bolt head of the screw bolt received therein. The housing has a first opening formed on one of the end surfaces thereof and a second opening formed on the other of the end surfaces thereof. The first opening is closed with a first cover means and the second opening is closed with a second cover means.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first cover means is formed on an inner surface thereof with a pair of air passages constituting a part of the air flow path means.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the housing has a cylindrical hole formed above the first receiving portion to fit a bushing therein, wherein the bushing is formed at a lower portion thereof on a rear right side thereof with a first air outlet hole and at a lower portion thereof on a front left side thereof with a second air outlet hole. The housing has two air passages formed on both sides of the cylindrical hole. One of the air passages is arranged so as to communicate with one air passage of the first cover means and the first air outlet hole of the bushing, and the other of the air passage is arranged so as to communicate with the other air passage of the first cover means and the second air outlet hole of the bushing.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the housing has a step formed on an upper surface thereof and the air introduction means includes a handle formed with the air introduction passage. The step of the housing is formed with an air introduction hole so as to communicate with the air introduction passage of the handle.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the step of the housing is formed at corners thereof with threaded holes. The handle is airtightly fixed at a proximal end thereof on the step of the housing by means of bolts.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air introduction means includes a handle, an air regulator arranged on a proximal end of the handle, an air valve arranged on a central portion of a bottom surface of the handle, a switch lever disposed so as to operate the air valve, a control pin for selectively controlling movement of the switch lever, and a stopper pivotally supported in a cutout formed at a free end of the switch lever so as to be raised therein. The air valve is rendered open by operating the switch lever toward the bottom surface of the handle. Control of movement of the switch lever by the control pin is carried out in order to maintain such an open state of the air valve.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air valve includes a valve body. The valve body is disposed in a valve chest arranged between the air introduction passages. The valve body of the air valve, when the switch lever is operated to upwardly push a lower end of the air valve while abuttedly contacting it with an upper surface of the switch lever, is raised from a valve seat arranged in the valve chest, resulting in the air valve being rendered open, so that the air introduction passages may be permitted to communicate with each other, to thereby permit compressed air introduced to flow into the housing through the air introduction hole formed on the upper surface of the housing.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotation direction changing-over valve is projected at both ends thereof from the bushing.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the piston mechanism includes the piston, the cylinder and a piston guide member. The piston is constructed into a hollow structure, resulting in being provided therein with a central hole so as to extend in a longitudinal direction thereof. The central hole of the piston is formed with female threads with which male threads of the screw bolt are threadedly engaged. The piston is formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof with an elongated guide groove for guiding the piston guide member and the guide groove is arranged so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the piston.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first cover means, housing and second cover means are integrally connected to each other by means of the holding bolts inserted through corners of the housing. The holding bolts each are threadedly engaged at a distal end thereof with each of the female screws formed in the second cover member.